


the knight and the princess

by serendipitousDescent



Series: Drabble Challenge [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Developing Relationship, High Fantasy, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 17:11:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16330190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitousDescent/pseuds/serendipitousDescent
Summary: “C’mon, Kageyama,” comes an oddly familiar voice, “how can we just leave a princess to fend for herself?”It’s the cheerful tone that tips Tsutomu off to its owner, making him freeze in place, a lump stuck in his throat.Any reply that this Kageyama makes is drowned out by the thoughts thundering through Tsutomu’s head. Three years have gone by since he last heard that cheerfulness - since he last saw Hinata - and the ure to reach for his sword has never been stronger.





	the knight and the princess

“C’mon, Kageyama,” comes an oddly familiar voice, “how can we just leave a princess to fend for herself?” 

It’s the cheerful tone that tips Tsutomu off to its owner, making him freeze in place, a lump stuck in his throat. 

Any reply that this Kageyama makes is drowned out by the thoughts thundering through Tsutomu’s head. Three years have gone by since he last heard that cheerfulness - since he last saw Hinata - and the ure to reach for his sword has never been stronger. 

Yet, it pales in comparison to the urge to storm over to wherever Hinata sits. 

Three years - three years, seven months and a handful of days, an unhelpful voice that sounds oddly like Shirabu points out - has not prepared Tsutomu for this. Avoiding Hinata should be easy, but all he wants to do is lecture him about this so-called princess. Any barkeep worth their weight has heard similar stories, only for the adventurers in question to never return.

That’s what Tsutomu is now. A barkeep who hands out more drinks than retribution, and won’t Hinata be surprised to find that out. 

Won’t Hinata be disappointed to see how far Tsutomu has fallen?

“Hey, Goshiki-” 

“ _ Shit _ .” 

Laughter rings out across the bartop as ale pours over the rim, coating Tsutomu’s hand in shitty beer. Screw worrying about someone else’s disappointment. Tsutomu is no longer twenty years old and desperate for approval, not by a long shot. 

Actually, screw Hinata for distracting him. And curse Terushima for laughing, although the laughter only grows louder when Tsutomu swivels around to glare at him.

But there is just a hint of orange near the door, enough to grab his attention and hold it there as the laughter awkwardly peters off. The low murmur of conversation throughout the tavern barely covers up whatever Hinata is saying. Arguing about might be more accurate, given the stubborn hunch of his shoulders. Armour only does so much to hide body language.

“Did you swallow a lemon or something?” Terushima asks, jagged spikes hidden beneath the teasing question. 

“That would be better than talking to you.” 

“Really? You could always test that out for yourself.” 

Tsutomu scowls, because he has never been capable of hiding his emotions. “Stop pretending you aren’t jealous. Unless you truly need a reminder about last year’s fire?” 

The line would be much more effective if Tsutomu were more like Ushijima, straight-faced and unaffected by most things. As it is, Terushima only snorts as Tsutomu pushes the thought aside. Ushijima might be the person he once wanted to become, but they haven’t talked in years now, and Hinata showing up here is enough nostalgia for one day. 

Can it be called nostalgia when Tsutomu feels no fondness at those memories? All that’s left is the bitter taste of regret now. He is the one to blame for what happened. Him and his own big mouth, incapable of keeping his investigation to himself before he had everything figured out. Too much of his time has been spent wondering how everything would have worked out if he said nothing, if he did anything differently. 

Tsutomu exhales, then sets the sticky glass down in front of Terushima. Their eyes meet, Hinata momentarily pushed aside as he silently dares Terushima to mention the spilt beer. 

“This one’s on the house, right?” Terushima asks, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Definitely not,” Tsutomu retorts.

Terushima sighs, even as his smirk grows wider. “Man, what would happen if I were to start spending my nights at Seijou?” 

“Absolutely nothing.” Tsutomu grins, eyes bright now that he has the upper hand once more. “Because you would never go there. Not when Yahaba tends bar there most nights.” 

The following silence is a victory, one Tsutomu allows himself to bask in. Few things feel as good as shutting down Terushima for more than a moment at a time, especially because Terushima lives on snarky remarks. And more often than not, Tsutomu is left floundering for a response. 

The victory prompts him to glance back at Hinata, and it, right along with the blood in his face, drains away. Two wide eyes stare back at him, recognition clear in Hinata’s gaze. 

Then, almost as if a slow spell has been placed over him, Hinata pushes back his chair and starts across the tavern without a word to his companion. Tsutomu cannot look away from the incoming collision. It’s more captivating than a berserker taking offense to his furniture, as expected as it should be. Hinata has always been the type of person to charge in without caring about the consequences. 

Just like Tsutomu.

“Hin-” 

“A pint of your worst beer, please,” Hinata demands as he meets Tsutomu head-on.

Intensity like that cannot belong to a regular adventurer.

Back before everything happened, Hinata could barely lift his own sword. Now, Tsutomu swallows as he recognizes the ornate details on the armour Hinata wears; they are almost as well known as the Crow Knight’s small stature. The demonic warrior who has been making a name for himself throughout the northern plains, right alongside the Black Spellcaster.

Contrary to what Shirabu might say, Tsutomu is no idiot. If Hinata is the Crow Knight, then his companion, currently fiddling with his messy bangs, must be the Black Spellcaster.

Tsutomu doesn’t allow that to stop him from staring Hinata down as he reaches for a glass. His heart might be pounding while he turns to pour ale from the same casket he filled Terushima’s glass with, but that was inevitable as soon as Hinata walked into this tavern. 

Hinata takes the glass that Tsutomu sets down, and drinks. 

Then his nose scrunches up, and he drops the glass back onto the bar, breaking the tension spell hovering around them. Tsutomu struggles to hold back a laugh. Three years, seven months and a handful of days have passed, but Hinata still hates beer. 

“ _ Ugh _ .” Hinata makes a complicated face, entirely oblivious as to just how  _ Hinata  _ that is. “How can you drink this?” 

A grin tugs at the corners of Tsutomu’s mouth. “I don’t. That brew is saved for my least favourite customers.” 

Terushima inhales sharply, but something must keep him from speaking his mind. Tsutomu will hear the protest later. Probably when the few survival instincts Terushima has have faded back to his typical recklessness. No one who visits this tavern is on great terms with the local knights.

Hinata pulls back, blinking. “Least… favourite?” 

“That’s - not what I meant!” Tsutomu finds himself saying. Not on purpose, but regret is hard to find when Hinata flashes him that relieved smile. It’s been too long. “I meant, it is my worst beer, but that’s what you asked for.” 

“I was joking!” Hinata protests, even as he holds back laughter. Poorly, at that. 

“How was I supposed to know that, stupid!” 

Their light-hearted bickering pauses awkwardly as someone clears their throat, standing slightly off to the side. 

Tsutomu snatches the empty glass from their hands before they can say a word, grateful for the opportunity to calm the flush quickly rising to his cheeks. The years apart must have painted Hinata in too positive a light. No one has the right to complain about getting exactly what they asked. 

But his heart still pounds loudly when he turns back around to find Hinata staring at him, unwavering. It takes everything Tsutomu has to murmur something to the other guest, to not fall apart entirely. 

Too much of his life has been spent thinking about Hinata. More specifically, thinking about all the ways he failed Hinata all those years ago. Hinata never told a soul about those robberies they were looking into, and, well, Tsutomu did. Determination meant nothing after that. 

Even now, Tsutomu can’t convince himself that Hinata just did it for the thrill of the chase anyways. Hinata has never been interested in that part of being an adventurer. 

“I visited the Knight-Commander yesterday,” Hinata says, quietly. 

Tsutomu pauses, his eyebrows furrowing. Then the words register for what they are and he reels back. “You did  _ what _ .” 

“Visited the Knight-Commander.” 

“The Knight-Commander,” he echoes, before his voice drops to a vicious hiss, “as in the person who threatened to imprison you if you ever came back to town?” 

Hinata doesn’t have the patience to even pretend to look sheepish, Tsutomu remembers belatedly. Which leaves his flustered anger flailing for a reaction in Hinata’s steady gaze. 

“I thought you would be there,” Hinata says instead. 

He thought-

A pang of hope echoes through him, but Tsutomu ignores it in favour of pulling himself taller. Closer to the Knight he once was. “Well, I haven’t been there in a long time.” 

“Why not?” 

“It’s complicated,” he manages, even as the tavern narrows down to him and Hinata. “Why were you looking for me at all?” 

“There’s this princess-” 

“Can’t you recognize a scam when you see one?” 

Hinata falters. “Kageyama says that too,” he admits dully, even as fire continues to burn in his gaze, “but it’s not. The Iron Wall is involved.” 

Tsutomu watches Hinata for a long moment. He should crack, then admit that this was a poorly executed joke he thought up. 

That never happens, which can only mean one thing. The Iron Wall truly kidnapped some princess, and Hinata’s first reaction was to hunt him down. Tsutomu wants to laugh, partially from the absurdity of the situation or from the relief that they were right all those years ago. 

Few people know that the Iron Wall isn’t just a fairy tale or a ragtag team of bandits along the edges of civilization. Anyone believing this is as likely as a boy from a farming village becoming one of the most renowned adventurers in the region. And yet, Hinata still stands in front of him, as confident as can be.

“Why come to me?” Tsutomu manages. 

Hinata grins, and that hope grows, becomes a bit more difficult to ignore. “I want you to come with us, of course. Kageyama and I are great and everything, but we might be pushing our luck if we confront the Iron Wall alone.” 

“You never care about pushing your luck.” The bright grin Hinata flashes him is enough to redden his cheeks once more, and Tsutomu shouldn’t. This much is already too much. “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll give you your answer.” 

“Alright.” 

“Alright?”

Hinata nods. “I can wait one more night for you.” 

It sounds a bit like a promise, even as Hinata turns on his heel and nearly skips back to his table. 

The sword in the back of Tsutomu’s closet needs to be polished. And Tsutomu needs to scrounge up a good set of heavy armour between now and tomorrow morning, because they took his old armour when he left the knights. Tendou might wonder where he’s gone, but he won’t worry. 

After all, there was never a doubt that Tsutomu would leave one day. He would have left three years, seven months and a handful of days ago, if Hinata had asked, but no one needs to know that. 

 


End file.
